Innovation Month News South Africa

#InnovationMonth: First 4DX campaign airs later this month

At the end of September, Popcorn Cinema Advertising's first 4DX advertising campaign will screen at Nu Metro's 4DX cinemas at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, The Pavilion in Durban and at the opening of the first 4DX cinema at Hyde Park in Johannesburg. The campaign is for the new Jaguar F-TYPE SVR vehicle.

4DX uses motion, vibration, water, wind, lightning, scents, and more to provide moviegoers with a multi-sensory movie experience. The 4DX cinemas give viewers a cinema outing like nothing they’ve ever heard, felt, seen and even smelt before.

Photographer: Anton Robert. Photo courtesy of Nu Metro Cinemas.
Photographer: Anton Robert. Photo courtesy of Nu Metro Cinemas.

Blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Deadpool, Batman V Superman, Jungle Book, The Legend of Tarzan, Suicide Squad and Star Trek Beyond are just some of the titles which have screened in 4DX. Wind, air, water and scent lines along with moving seats are synchronized with the action on-screen, as coded by 4DX in conjunction with the film studios. The action-adventure Ben-Hur starts showing in Nu Metro’s 4DX cinemas from this Friday.

The technology

Johan van Staden, Nu Metro’s head of technical, was sent to Seoul for three weeks last year to specifically train for certified status to manage the installation of 4DX technology locally. A current cinema at Nu Metro Hyde Park is being converted to 4DX. The introduction of 4DX at Nu Metro Hyde Park forms part of the overall renovation project in process at this cinema complex.

Courtesy of Jaguar/Popcorn Cinema Advertising.
Courtesy of Jaguar/Popcorn Cinema Advertising.

The content screened in 4DX is projected in HD (2D and Digital 3D) on a silver curved wall-to-wall screen. Its audio system has been upgraded to a Dolby CP750 with 7.1 full surround sound. The Barco projector used in the cinema also uses an upgraded lamp for brighter picture in both 2D and 3D.

“We had to install a complete new steel floor structure in the 4DX cinema to be able to handle the 0.3G-force the unit moves with; as well as water, air and scent lines. The complete system uses 24 computers (one in each of the 21 seats, motion PC, monitor PC and screen server). The ‘force’ utilises Servo motors and transducers, and not hydraulics, making the movement much smoother and more active.” explains van Staden.

Advertising in 4DX

Popcorn Cinema Advertising offers brands the opportunity to add the 4DX dimension to their campaigns in cinemas. Apart from giving the campaign multi-sensory effects, the rollout will also include a foyer display and activation at each 4DX site. For more information, contact the Popcorn Cinema Advertising team on 011 329 0601.

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